Midget Submarines of WW2 - Small and Possibly Deadly?

Today we take a look at some of the smaller combat vessels of World War 2, the midget submarines and manned torpedoes.
German mini-subs found here: • Kriegsmarine's Wunderw...
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[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@MadHatO815]

If you had been put in charge of the Reichsmarine during the weimar republic how would you have developed and Modernized it with the restrictions of the treaty of versailles in mind?

[@99IronDuke]

@Drachinifel could you please do a 'special' on the sinking of the Japanese heavy crusier IJNS Haguro by the Royal Navy's 26th destroyer flotilla on 16 May 1945 at the battle of the Malacca Strait. It has always struck me as a highly professional, and gallant, RN WWII action, that deserves to be better known.

[@Betrix5060]

How mad are you at MHV for releasing your video early?

[@gerfand]

Why did the German put 6 inch guns on Graff Zepelin? was it only because Akagi had 8inch guns?

[@chrisnorman1183]

If all the best features of every nations midgets subs were rolled into 1, would it actually be any good and is there a way to quantify that improvment if you did try and meassure how much better it would have been? Cheers Drachinifel and loving your extended in depth naval topics :) Loved 'Sail to Steam'.

[@glennricafrente58]

"Increase speed to full walk!" "Cap'n, the engines canna take much more o' this!"

[@Colt45hatchback]

I'm totally going to print off a new facia for the speedometer of my tractor that goes from stationary, through crawl, then an orange amble section and finally a walk segment in red

[@sheslikeheroin93]

"I'm givin' her all she's got!"

[@kennethdeanmiller7324]

"I can't do it cap'n, we got no power!!! I tried shovin' a weiner in the warp drive, but it didn't do a bit of good! By the by, would you hap'n to have a wee bit a mustard up on the brig???" "Analysis Mr Spock?" " It appears that Mr Snotty is about to eat a Weiner- without mustard!"

[@kennethdeanmiller7324]

Oh my God, good gracious! Claud 9: "Well I'm a happy hippie, taking a little trippy, drivin' on down the... -Big Mouth Cop: A'IGHT BOY, PULL OVER. I GOT YOU CLOCKED AT 80 MILES PER HOUR. Claud 9: Man that's impossible, I haven't even been out an hour. BMC: DON'T YOU LAY NONE OF THAT YANKEE HIPPIE SASS ON ME BOY! LET ME SEE YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE. Claud 9: Aw, here ya go man. BMC: DON'T PLAY TOM FOOL WITH ME BOY, THAT AIN'T NO DRIVERS LICENSE. Claud 9: Aw man, that's the menu from Alice's Restaurant. Here ya go man, it was freakin' out behind my Timothy Leary Trip of the Month Card. Too much to do it all. Wanna hear the rest? It's hilarious. My Dad use to have it on LP. Its "Hudson & Landry", & no not trying to "spam" you. I get no $ for this. It's just one of those comedy teams, they were funny but IDK, don't think they wen very far but they were good.

[@highlypolishedturd7947]

"Believe it or not, there was actually a full training regime in place for suicide weapons." "Okay, class! Pay attention! I'm only going to show you this once!"

[@davidb6576]

This got a legitimate "lol" from me...

[@babylon218]

You... You get a "like".

[@RENEGADEJon19]

"Was it a nice training facility?" "It used to be." "What happened?" *Sigh* "New guy... The idiot tried to practice!"

[@highlypolishedturd7947]

@@RENEGADEJon19 LOL!!!

[@RENEGADEJon19]

@@highlypolishedturd7947 good ol' Jeff Dunham!

[@dasirrlicht5415]

The Mark I Human Eyeball is a perfectly fine, standard, mass produced targeting system!

[@Dragon-Slay3r]

Right on time, water drop

[@Santander_wows]

Lol

[@TheOmegagoldfish]

A submarine fight is just two big torpedoes shooting smaller torpedoes at one another.

[@Gordon519]

your not wrong and this angers me

[@bigblue6917]

Unless your Japanese in which case it's a small torpedo firing a smaller torpedo. Then they and the Germans just dispensed with the submarine and sat in the torpedo. I mean. I have heard of simplifying things but next step is a dingy, a paddle and a very stern letter.

[@beurteilung713]

@@bigblue6917 That is just a Canadian warship you described.

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

Nowadays its like one big torpedo fires a missile, which near the other big torpedo, drops a depth charge or a torpedo onto her. It. Whatever gender the craft desires.

[@NoNameAtAll2]

@@Gordon519 you're wrong with your spelling and this angers me

[@thebadshave503]

Italian Engineer: "Almost done translating the design notes. How do you say 'and then you get off the sub' in Japanese? Eh, common sense really."

[@danyvarna5094]

At what range do you push yourself off of the torpedo you are guiding so that you don't get ripped by its large warhead and still guarantee that you will hit, and thus revenge your incinerated family in Tokyo, wise guy? Respect the men! They had more bravery then you will ever have!

[@benis4958]

@@danyvarna5094 respect deez nuts

[@danyvarna5094]

@@benis4958 , I do respect you, nutz. I fully respect the ability of you and other asylum bugs to create mischief, and not appreciate the sacrifice of people like the ones which, through their work, supports your irrelevant presence on this word.

[@benis4958]

@@danyvarna5094 uh oh someone's pissy about a deez nuts joke

[@danyvarna5094]

@@benis4958 , you seem to not get it :-/ How old are you? 14?

[@johnbrearley9791]

Those Italian frogmen had balls of steel, and were remarkably effective. A great method for using few resources to great results.

[@Cpt_Boony_Hat]

It’s a bit funny the Italians get so much crap for WWII bust there one of the biggest progenitor on todays SEALS operations

[@limpek001]

Their panerais must have helped too.

[@paulandsueroberts4121]

If they did they would have sunk.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

Note if only the Italians did as well in all other posts of the war.

[@saveriosalemme5366]

@@Cpt_Boony_Hat The Italian soldier was equally intrepid and proficient as the Allied solder. Winston Churchill’s disparaging indictment that Italy was “the soft underbelly of the axis" was in view of Italy’s lack of industrial might and a modern military force which severely handicapped their effectiveness in battle. However according to Italians their main downfall was not the culmination of superior enemy forces but the fiasco of a criminally corrupt and incompetent government and military leadership which disqualified them no matter how courageous from achieving success.

[@mikecimerian6913]

Italians may not have shined elsewhere but they definitely created the concept of combat diver with effect.

[@vaclav_fejt]

3:08 "...and the red coats worn by the Mounties probably gave them mild case of institutional PTSD and a strong desire to run back to defend the White House. Aaanyway, back to our al dente underwater escapades..."

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Eh, the white House is in the north. They can burn that down again if they want. Nothing valuable would be lost.

[@jamesharding3459]

@@lowlandnobleman6746 A traitorous Southerner, I see. If y’all had stuck with the Spanish and Mexicans, we’d be better off for it.

[@isaiahcampbell488]

@@jamesharding3459 He sounds like a friend of mine from the Republic of Texas.

[@MechaWolf0]

@@lowlandnobleman6746 General Sherman has entered the chat:

[@dokkisse9075]

Lmao, 5 star

[@TalenGryphon]

That first midget sub is just an underwater motorcycle "Sir I'm picking up something on the hydrophone! It sounds like a... Ducati?!"

[@sergarlantyrell7847]

A friend's grandad was a kamakaze pilot and his name was chosen in what sounds like a kind of raffle (that has the worst prize ever!) for a mission the next day, however on the day the weather was bad enough that his mission was called off and his name wasn't chosen again, and survived the rest of the war. It was amazing to hear about it (even second hand) from the perspective of someone who was as involved in the program operationally as you can get while surviving.

[@GrahamCStrouse]

Ser Garlan Tyrell So, basically the Hunger Games, but with worse odds...

[@jackandersen1262]

If I remember correctly, the kamikaze pilots that had their missions canceled due to mechanical, or weather related issues were shunned during and quite sometime after the war. Was that correct?

[@craigkoehler4363]

Numerous inexperienced kamikaze pilots were on missions, shot down or crashed, and survived.

[@Elios0000]

@@jackandersen1262 not true at all there is great film on this 'Wings of Defeat' no one wanted them to throw there lives away if they didnt have to

[@drewscheller4956]

Mk.1 Human Eyeball :D

[@curium9622]

Wartime vehicle development in Great Britain . Take a London bus engine and slap it to any tank or ship you can find

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

They got a bit carried-away with the 'Double Decker Tank'.

[@josephdedrick9337]

aussie tank development, you see that tractor over there lets bolt some sheet metal to it.

[@MrWaalkman]

@@josephdedrick9337 Or in Colorado: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer

[@Cpt_Boony_Hat]

MrWaalkman it’s even funnier when you realize 15 years before to the day a government treaded on its citizens in China. Then in the US 15 years later one man treaded on the government for backing him into a corner

[@Max-hb9yu]

​@@josephdedrick9337 The bob whatever tank was new Zealand, and in its defense its the best thing the country could produces. The Aussies made the somewhat more effective(still not great) ac1 sentinel.It never saw front line service because the British army had managed to recuperate it's losses at Dunkirk and as such were giving out more tanks to commonwealth forces. The US at this time also started selling M3's and M4's to anyone and everyone that would buy them.

[@robertkalinic335]

Engine? Checked! Batteries? Charged! Oxygen tanks? Full! Pizza? Napolitana! Mines? Ready! Sharks? Circling around! Fine Luigi lets go!

[@farmerboy916]

*Let's-a go! You even mention Luigi, get it right :P

[@weldonwin]

@@farmerboy916 And on mines it should have been: Mines? Adorable (Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!)

[@andrewgraham6006]

Japan torpedo ready yes we’ll go then u ain’t going to miss anything if u stand waiting ur dying anyway

[@robynn144]

The Danish reverend who babtised me was an ex-SBS frogman. First during WW2 in British Special Boat Service. SBS, then he was recruited for the SOE and after the war he was a co-founder of Danish Navy special forces. And then, when he was discharged from the Navy because of costs limitations, he became a protestant reverend/minister.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

32:00 I read a brief account of scouting a D-Day beach by a guy on a mini-sub. They apparently used ex-Luftwaffe oxygen bottles, and never really knew how much air they had in hand, but managed to do the recon, get back to Blighty, and get out and walk away.

[@StuSaville]

40:41 Just a minor correction - the commando force you're referring to was Z Special Unit. Z Force was a British intelligence unit operating in Burma. On a side note, as a kid I was trained to scuba dive by a Z Special Unit veteran who operated a dive school in Perth Aus. It's almost criminal that these guys activities during the war aren't more widely known.

[@AdamMGTF]

Another way to think about it.... They were supposed to be secret and stealthy. Maybe the fact their exploits are known only to history buffs is a compliment

[@MrJohndoakes]

17:00 What you can say about the Japanese mini-subs at Pearl Harbor is that they were almost practicing Kamikaze before Kamikaze existed; these two-man sub crews knew their lives were probably forfeit the minute they launched from the "mother" submarine.

[@aslamnurfikri7640]

Yeah Drachinifel didn't mention one of the crews became the first Japanese POW

[@fastinradfordable]

You probably forfeit your life in any war

[@roteba1]

I saw a Kaiten at the Kobe Naval Museum in Japan. It was an ugly, crudely build vessel because that was all it needed to be. I remember my precise words to my wife - "Is that a Kaiten? Oh shit - it IS a Kaiten....."

[@kevg3320]

I've seen that too with very similar thoughts!! Iirc, it is in the same hall as one of the damaged gun barrels (or at least the breech block) of IJN Aoba. Got a photo of it somewhere.

[@fastinradfordable]

Riveting words between you and your wife. Truly a comment the world needed to hear.

[@dndboy13]

5:15 this is why i love the early-mid 20th century at some point someone was planning or testing large craft carrying smaller craft boats, ships, subs, planes, blimps, you name it.

[@dndboy13]

the US would visit the idea of airborne aircraft carriers all the way up to like the 70s iirc, i guess the little kid in all of us really comes out in weapons development

[@farmerboy916]

Ah, but how many of the cross combinations were truly explored? Of course you have blimps and ships carrying aircraft, but what about aircraft carrying light boats and the like? Or mini subs? Submarines carrying amphibious land craft for suprise landings in occupied regions? Hell, submarines carrying a few fast torpedo boats, to unleash them from the center of a convoy and allow the mothership to escape, would have been interesting.

[@farmerboy916]

Wait, I just reached the airdroppable canoe portion. That's one combo ticked off

[@klobiforpresident2254]

@@farmerboy916 The A-Team documentary taught me rank carrying planes work. Just imagine the defensive firepower!

[@klobiforpresident2254]

@Deborah Meltrozo There were zeppelins carrying small fighters, if that counts.

[@screamingnutbag7955]

19 knots *submerged*!!! We grew up with a couple of WW2 artifacts being very prominent in our war history education - G for George was one of them, and the Japanese midget sub on display was the other. These were the Australian War Memorial's two most treasured parts of its collection. If that thing could do that speed submerged, I now understand why. (Having heard an Avro Lancaster fly over me, I understand why G for George was treasured.).

[@Buzbikebklyn1]

"Benny Hill" style of escape? That's a hoot! I'd love to see a German "E" boat chasing a submersible canoe all over the North sea. Hilarious!

[@historytank5673]

Then the canoe chases the e boat and then gets chased by a number of e boat

[@antivalidisme5669]

"Anyway, back to our al dente underwater escapades" Admire the gorgeous green basil of this pocket submarine, 10/10 transition!

[@Jan-mu6vs]

Almost 15k.... That's massive 😂

[@duneydan7993]

Love to think of the men of the Valliant strolling around, whistling and carrying toolboxes while outside then running as if chased by the Devil as soon as they went inside.

[@alainarchambault2331]

Drachinifel, I've always imagined that in your intro, that ship's gun barrel coming down in front of that sailor just as he walks into it. A little slapstick as he bonks his head and falls backward.

[@andrewgraham6006]

I think If a gun barrel hit h when it was moving ur ass is dead especially cruiser or battleship guns the barrel alone would be 50or 100 tons

[@an_f-14_tomcat]

@@andrewgraham6006 it's going slow enough to essentially just result the same way as walking quickly into a wall.

[@jonathansteel6566]

When I lived in Gibraltar about 40 years ago a dauntless friend of mine was a member of the local diving club. One day he came to me and said 'look what we found buried in the sandy bottom outside the destroyer pens'. It was a full diving face mask with the words 'Supermarina or Supermarine' as part of the moulding. I suggested it was part of the equipment of some of the Italian Attack Divers and he should take it to the museum. I left a couple of weeks later but would be interested to know if it was part of history of Italian Special Forces. My next stop was London where a year or so later I found myself working with an ex CPO who had been part of Commander Crabb's RN diving team. He also thought the mask might be Italian. If any one knows how this concluded I'd be interested to know.

[@federicodelsarto940]

"Supermarina" was the name of the high comand of the italian navy, so yes it was definitely italian

[@Bird_Dog00]

Ok, I have to say it, that "5 minutes, more or less" thing HAS to be just a running gag by now... Anyway, I realy enjoyed this one. Interesting designs. Quite a few I wasn't aware off until now. I also do like the snarky comments you put into your videos. btw. I think you pronounced "maiale" quite well. I'm not an italian speaker, but I do have native italian co-workers and could inquire as to how they pronounce the word, should you so desire me to do so.

[@LordInter]

yeah, I think due to pressure from us, the avid viewers they have grown 😂

[@Colonel_Overkill]

It is a running gag. I think he forgot to remove it on a special or a ship ran long originally, but now just standard issue Drach humor.

[@NewtypeCommander]

Drachinifel, I would like to politely request that you review the T-class submarines of the Royal Navy. Edit: just to reiterate for clarification, I meant the T-class submarines of the Second World War. You have given the Gato-class their due diligence, so it should be fair that the British T-class should be given their's as well.

[@estoyaqui5386]

16:40 "Flamu, should i equip fighter- or spotter-plane to my submarine?"

[@redshirt5126]

"I understood that reference."

[@ousou78]

Don't get it

[@Kwolfx]

@@ousou78- It's a World of Warships reference. On some ships in the game you can equip either fighter planes or scout planes. Flamu is the handle of a well known community contributor who dispenses game advice in his KZbin videos.

[@drewscheller4956]

The HENNESSEY VELOCIRAPTOR is coming to Raiti’s Rides TONIGHT! Does 600HP make it a better Raptor? Stay tuned for the ON THROTTLE fun!

[@kilianortmann9979]

21:45 Somebody probably read ''Ignition! a history of rocket fuels'' by John D. Clark.

[@Fulcrum205]

Great book. As a former holder of a DOT/ATA Hazmat certification I can honestly say those rocket chemists were lunatics. I read that book with my big hazmat reference book open. The chemicals they were playing around with give me the heebie jeebies. Some of that stuff would get you thrown in prison for hauling it on a public road. In all honesty, I'm assuming they got it from the Germans. Walther was big on Peroxide and Hydrazine fuels which they used in Me163

[@felixcat9318]

When you said that the two X-Craft broke their towlines and went off to have other adventures in the sea, what they actually did was to sink to their crush depths and implode, killing their 'Caretaker Crews'. Hardly adventurous, was it!

[@pattonpending7390]

Ahem. CSS Hunley, 1864. First sub to sink an enemy ship (before she went down herself). Can't have a midget submarine story without her.

[@markackermann673]

Have you seen the Hunley? It will make you wonder what kind of man would get in it!

[@nomadmarauder-dw9re]

Although today Hunley would be classed as a mini or midget sub, I'm not aware of any contemporary examples of any size. Ergo, Hunley wasn't a mini, just a submarine.

[@merafirewing6591]

​@@nomadmarauder-dw9re nah, the Hunley is a mobile iron coffin.

[@nomadmarauder-dw9re]

@@merafirewing6591 so were the mini subs. Not a lot of air. Because it's A MINI. Both Pearl Harbor examples were sunk on the surface. Or just after being spotted. Because they had to surface for air.

[@williammagoffin9324]

The US did work on some stuff, they had a semi-submersible (a craft that only has a driver's viewport and air induction above water) that could be hidden at the destination fully submerged called GIMIK (which I'm guessing is pronounced "gimmick", but apparently the crews called them Gizmo #1 and Gizmo #2). This was part of Project NAPKO which was to insert agents into Japanese held Korea, the boats were kept after the war and were modified to become the CIA's SKIFF boats. I know GIMIK never got used and I don't think SKIFF was either.

[@Kwolfx]

Along time ago I saw an old black and white movie on TV about Italian frogman and their Royal Navy counterparts. It was about the actions that took place in Gibraltar. The movie started off showing models of HMS Valiant and the QE getting blasted. It also had underwater scenes of the Pigs leaving the Spanish ship they used as a mother ship. I don't remember the movies' name though. I just found it. It was called "The Silent Enemy" (1958) and was highly fictionalized. The movie used British Chariot Manned Torpedoes rather than the Italian Maiale, but when the movie was made I doubt there where many Maiale's left around to use.

[@robert506007]

'The sight of the Red Coated Mounties probably gave them a case of PTSD and a need to run home and defend the White House' Instant like and DAMN that is a good one!

[@georgecolley9970]

Again the photos are great. The depth of thought on the commentary description is perfect for a historical video. Cheers! Thanks for putting in the time.

[@robmanueb.]

The two Italian frogmen De la Penne and Bianchi were injured by the explosion, but survived.

[@robmanueb.]

As an aside check out Basil Zaharoff on Wiki if you are interested in the very early days of submarines and the politics that saw them accepted into service for various nations. One devious mofo that profited and arguably caused some wars to happen.

[@erictaylor5462]

When I was a teenager we had a family friend who was a sub mariner. He was an officer (eventually getting his own command) and would tell us lots of (redacted) stories. He'd start out, "Once we were on patrol, tracking this Soviet boomer (this was the 80's when the Soviet Union still existed) then.... Well that's all I can say." It would drive us nuts.

[@colormedubious4747]

Important safety tip: ALL U.S. military units take exception to being fired upon and will enthusiastically return the favor.

[@Tepid24]

The picture from 20:30 to 23:30 : I didn't expect those manned torpedos to be kilometres long! :P

[@t_k_blitz4837]

Never mind that, where'd they get the gigantic pilots?

[@sol2544]

"Got stuck in a torpedo net and blew itself up" mood

[@SandyEA]

As a Canadian I loved the comment around 3:05 of the video. A put down only a historian would understand. Nicely done sir.

[@kwd3109]

And only an ass would say.

[@ssquared8076]

Loved the Canadian Mountie comment. A+

[@ThreenaddiesRexMegistus]

Dey don’t call em mounties for nuttin, eh.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Capture diver1: Didn't we plant a bomb on this ship Capture diver 2: Huh? Oh Both diver😱😱

[@clementbruera]

It should be noted that the Captain of the Valiant himself gave to the diver (Luigi Durand de la Penne) that put the mine under the ship the highest Italian military award (Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare) at the end of the war.

[@clintcarpentier2424]

@@clementbruera "Oooohhhhh!!! Those British warships are riding a little low and slow in the water... they must be overloaded for a serious fight... stay away STAY AWAY!!!"

[@Shadow-sq2yj]

@Uncle Joe Lol, true

[@AnimeSunglasses]

22:20 When the LESS VOLATILE option for fueling a craft is STILL literally rocket fuel, and that craft is NOT a rocket, the thing I know best about it is that I DO NOT WANT TO GO NEAR ONE.

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

24:28 "And yes, for a suicide weapon, they also had a self-destruct."

[@mattblom3990]

"Crawl, Amble, and Walk" with a shadow of a Chariot on a tee shirt.

[@Tadesan]

yeah. damn. japan.

[@saranobutt]

Excuse me, but I believe you mean Little person submarine.

[@falloutghoul1]

Dwarf Submarine.

[@PaperclipClips]

@@falloutghoul1 - Yep, that's Tyrion's preferred nomenclature, as well.

[@bennylofgren3208]

falloutghoul1 With the mothership HMS Snow White.

[@abrahkadabra9501]

😂👍

[@CzechMirco]

Imp submarine :D

[@alecblunden8615]

The classification was interesting. The RN had three types of real "submarines" - otherwise submersibles - in 1939 - the T class patrol, S class near waters and U/V coastal. All successful, all widely employed, but definitely 3 classes and no "fleet" or other genuine monstrosities.

[@beminsterify]

He stops just short of referring to the US as "colonials".

[@Drachinifel]

My sarcasm applies to all countries equally. :)

[@scottgiles7546]

Go ahead and try. The US SNARK reserves are Huge and and could cover it easily. :-)

[@Drachinifel]

@@scottgiles7546 USSSR - United States Strategic Snark Reserves? :D

[@scottgiles7546]

Which is quite snarky itself! We're having fun here. (and why did you add the extra "S"?) I consider thing like this like brothers or cousins teasing each other, as I suspect most 'Mercan posters do.

[@stephenle-surf9893]

Is it wrong to just think it lmao thanks for seeing the funny side

[@brooksbutler8547]

I am 80 yrs. One of my first memories was a midget sub on a flatbed truck at what I now assume was a war bond drive. I assume this was captured in Hawaii.

[@andrewgraham6006]

Hi guessing I would of been about 6-7 then given that it would of been around 43-44 if warbirds were still a thing but do you have any thing else you can add to this or was it you just saw it driving by those wee midget subs always seemed so ingesting

[@richardfulton9398]

This is the one now on display in Fredricksburg Texas at the Pacific War Museum

[@allaneriksen7171]

Thanks for reminding us how brave these submariners were. 4 VCs earned on RN missions; Donald Cameron and Basil Place for the Tirpitz mission and Ian Fraser and James Magennis for the Takao mission ; I think about 10 Italians were similarly honoured with the MOVM, including Luigi Durand de la Penne, possibly the greatest of them all.

[@deaks25]

What I imagined when you talked about the Monaghan “taking exception” to being shot at by a Midget sub: No. 20 Midget Sub: “Haha time to cause some chaos! Oh damn, I seem to have irritated the USS Monaghan by shooting torpedoes at her.” USS Monaghan: “Oi, I’m gonna have you for that! GET BACK HERE!!”

[@jimreilly9749]

Your midget sub video. It"s got to be up with the best I've ever watched

[@lylekush]

I love the bit about the mounties literally made my laugh out loud

[@DimoB8]

If I had a midget sub I would name it: "Danny DiveTo" and it would have a magnum torpedo!

[@CSSVirginia]

And some type of monster tarp to wrap it.

[@hendo337]

Danny DiveEtoe

[@ninovalenzuela1019]

Regardless you started blasting

[@piotrekzielinski2559]

Wow, I'm here on pre-premiere! (MHV posted a link to this at his video on midget subs)

[@cp1cupcake]

Me too. I thought YT was bugging out by not showing me this vid in my feed.

[@Drachinifel]

Yep, vid goes 'live' tommorow now :)

[@Bird_Dog00]

+1 also here because of MHV.

[@aakashjain4569]

Same

[@piotrekzielinski2559]

@@Drachinifel PS - it was a bad idea to watch this vid on pre-premiere - now that it's live, I don't have anything new from you to watch :(

[@julianalsop4215]

Just for interest sake - the sub M24 that escaped Sydney Harbour was found in 2006, approx 5km off the Northern Beaches of Sydney. It is now a protected site.

[@michaelbonet3783]

"World's Tiniest Hunter-Killers", That just sounds so cool and cute. :)

[@TomSedgman]

I wonder if the japanese started developing the kaiten based on the loss rates of the midget subs? "Every time we lose a midget sub we lose a lot of steel and several crew, how can we be more efficicent?" "I know, cut it down to one person and one torpedo?" "Excellent thought, you are an honour to your ancestors!"

[@avnrulz]

Those London bus engines got around! Busses, tanks, subs...

[@scottgiles7546]

Did that affect London bus service at the time? (Where's the bloody engine!?!)

[@avnrulz]

@@scottgiles7546 only if they were 'midnight acquisitions'!

[@russwoodward8251]

Sometime these engines were used even used on buses.

[@KatherineFtw]

Probably because heavy engines, particularly during the interwar where rare. Particularly good ones.

[@Jaminhawk]

@@russwoodward8251 What other buffoonery will those British engineers get up to? Maybe put square windows on a pressurized jetliner?

[@willrogers3793]

In regards to that remark regarding the war of 1812...upon further reflection (and after the shrieks of rage had subsided), I have decided that if the Canadians ever feel like trying again, well...as they say, “there’s no time like the present”.

[@cobalt2361]

Mk.1 Human Eyeball :D

[@AdamMGTF]

First read the phrase in Tom Clancy 20+ years ago... Wonder who coined it?

[@blairbuskirk5460]

If using corrective lenses does that mean its a mk2 human eyeball?

[@blairbuskirk5460]

Or Mark 1*?

[@Shaun_Jones]

34:49 with that much boom under the ship, I think they air mailed bits of Takao back to Kure naval yard.

[@peregrinemccauley7819]

Those submarine , hydraulic net cutters sure get about . James Bond's nemesis ,. ' Jaws ' , swore by them . Never went out without a shiny , well greased pair .

[@stavinaircaeruleum2275]

Jaws is best boi

[@stupitdog9686]

As an ex RN Diver I loved this video. BTW in the 1960 the RN mine-hunters used London Bus Engines as their Hunting Engines on the 360 Degree Rudders. Still Popular !!

[@RuralTowner]

Nice to hear about a part of WW2 where the Italians were actually doing well w/o the need to call on Germany to rescue them.

[@sayethwe8683]

28:36 "undersea pleasure car" man I love retrofuturism. Using military bare-bones devices as recreational vehicles.

[@Kanikalion]

Donate a torpedo to the allied cause. Jeebus Drach. Just when I think you can't get any funnier.

[@lukewest7216]

Should've posted it to the USN so they'd have at least one torpedo that would actually go boom

[@staringdowna45]

Just wanted to say thanks, Drach. Got up this morning on my birthday to find a long video on subs, hell of a start to a fantastic day.

[@Eulemunin]

Love the collaboration going on. And it’s nice to see small units getting there due recognition.

[@R3volutionblu3s]

14:05 Imagine being the sailor ordered to crack that thing open after it had been sitting on the bottom for a while with a couple of bodies in it.

[@thekornwulf]

Yeah. Can't have been pleasant at all, assuming it was still sealed. If it wasn't, small sea life would've picked anything organic apart in the several decades that that thing was on the bottom. Opening one of those (though it was a German "Moloch", not a Japanese ship), was a major plot point in one of Clive Cussler's books

[@Sofus.]

I still wish you to address the topic of the German Midget Submarines.

[@tinkmarshino]

I enjoy your documentaries very much.. you have just the right amount of humor for a serious subject.. I went to your friends page to catch the german mini sub video.. excellent.. thanks for the share and carry on!

[@Kwolfx]

Underwater canoe racing. Why isn't this an Olympic sport yet?

[@wekapeka3493]

Because it wouldn’t be a spectator sport?

[@WildBillCox13]

"All ahead Amble, mister Perkins." "Aye, sir!"

[@animal16365]

There were many Dracisims in this one ^^ I had a good laugh

[@Xerethane]

"Propellants for which the best protection is a good pair of running shoes." Sounds like either you've read "Ignition!" An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants" or you follow Scott Manley :-) Great line either way!

[@shadowfire246]

3:00 british throwing insults at america over the war of 1812.... well played! 🤣🤣

[@pokemongo-py6yq]

I was confused by it being off topic.

[@shadowfire246]

@@pokemongo-py6yq I thought it was hilarious because normally it's the other way around.

[@TheSchultinator]

As an American, I want to be offended, but Drach's delivery was so fun I'm not

[@MS-gr2nv]

We not eating curry here LOL...chip chip....

[@williammurdoch468]

@@TheSchultinator We have to be able to laugh at ourselves, right?

[@admiraltiberius1989]

Fantastic video Drach....I knew when I saw the "two submarines racing" picture that it was gonna be a great video.

[@zachsmith1676]

my favourite of the Midget Submarines would be the Royal Navy's X-Class Submarine, first learned of them through the Commando Comics

[@madhungarian3024]

Ah, this explains something i read in "Tin Can Sailor" by Calhoun, where the author mentioned that when the submarine net was briefly lowered to allow his destroyer through into the Gibraltar harbor, the British dropped depth charges just before and after the US ships went through. I was thinking it would've been rather hard for a full-sized submarine to try to sneak through there, but right, a midget sub might've been able to do it. Thus the depth charges.

[@cirosuperiore]

12:29 Japanese went from minisubs to Literally MANNED TORPEDOES (is anyone surprised?)

[@Kardia_of_Rhodes]

Japanese mentality when designing submarines: "If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet."

[@KatherineFtw]

Just wait until you get to tanks. Type-5 Chi-Ri was intended to have a fully automatic auto-loader, a feature only common after Gen-2 Main Battle Tanks came around in the 60's. Really, the A6M Zero and Type-3 Chi-Nu are perfect models of Japanese design. Flawed yet somehow advanced and works.

[@loadeddice4696]

This is the first video I'm watching after moving house! Give me strength as I unpack all my crap

[@mechanicman8687]

Jake Collingwood Same here.

[@ethanhatcher5533]

The Drachisms in this one are off the charts

[@allancarey2604]

Funny, I just watched Military History Not Visualised video on the Kiegsmarines midget subs :)

[@mmareks9865]

Few words about Latvian submarines of 20-30period would be interesting.. they was two ,one of them name Ronis ( Seal).

[@eisenhertz]

i love your humoristic view,of things.keep buggering on.great video,by the way!

[@rrobb9853]

You mention that, whilst en route to Norway, two X craft parted their tows and '... went off on other adventures.' This is, with respect, inappropriate levity as X9 had a passage crew, all of whom were presumed lost with their craft. Able Seaman Harry Harte; Stoker George Hollett; and Sub Lt Edward Kearon.

[@simon4781]

It's simple irony/black humor. No need to doubt his respect for the sailors involved.

[@rrobb9853]

@@simon4781 X9 broke its tow. The men likely passed away in a situation of some distress. Making a light comment about that isn't appropriate. I'd like to think that Drach made the comment without knowing about the loss of the submariners but it is worth making the point.

[@turbowolf302]

Okay, as an American, that jab at the start was pretty good. made me lol.

[@lycossurfer8851]

@00:40 the one on the right is ahead by two hull lengths

[@davidmccormick7419]

working with military history not visualized again? great work, i enjoy hearing about the operational uses after his overview

[@angelarch5352]

"Redcoats (Canada)... giving them a strong desire to run back and defend the white house" :D 1812 was one crazy year haha!

[@natehill8069]

3:22 Since this is clearly a torpedo with a bunch of crap welded to it and it isnt going to fit into a tube anymore, they should have welded on a couple of small bow planes while they were at it to give it some depth control. On Junkyard Wars, they once built a device that looked similar to this (sans warhead) and it was clearly compromised in its depth control by not having diving planes either, more like a "what angle would you like to face while you plow straight ahead" control.

[@edelweissgriffin4909]

I really want to see Takao class in 5min guide, or Ise class since it's a very unique battleship which converted to battle carrier

[@theguyeverybodylikes9667]

Drach has a list which has all ships for 5 minute guides, any suggestions not already on the list are added to the list. The list of the ships done (the list is chronological, i.e. the top one is the next and it goes down from there) is in the 5min guide vids (its not the complete list, that would be too long to put in the video description).

[@AdamMGTF]

You can bump a video up the list as a patron. But please don't call it very unique. Unique means one of a kind. Something can't be very one of a kind. Every American TV person or youtuber seems to say this phrase a lot. Its very confusing.

[@theleva7]

I guess the reason canoe didn't get a "Wel-" prefix is that the name would rather quickly become a running joke among those unfortunate SOE agents, who would have to use it.

[@straswa]

Great vid Drach, thanks so much for your uploads.

[@russwoodward8251]

Incredible research. This is a very complete history. Thank you!

[@ThreenaddiesRexMegistus]

“A strong desire to run back and defend the White House”- absolute gold! Canada , eh? LMFAO. Those clever and intrepid Italians ! They even managed to make them look stylish , in a pudgy sort of way. Great video!

[@williamrogers6421]

The U.S. had a bad case of PTSD in the War of 1812? I think Major General Sir Edward Packenham would’ve had such a case with his 8000 Napoleanic veterans had he survived January 8,1815.

[@AdamMGTF]

It's called a joke... Sigh 🙄

[@antongebhardt3924]

The Mk1 Human eyeball LOVE IT